Kelly Clarkson Recalls Emotional Divorce From Brandon Blackstock During Christmas Special, Explains She 'Cried Her Face Off' Writing Song About Split
Kelly Clarkson has been feeling the holiday blues.
During her NBC Christmas special Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around, the vocalist, 39, got emotional talking about writing songs about her divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock.
The couple — who share daughter River, 7, and son Remington, 5 — split in June of 2020 after Clarkson filed for divorce after seven years of marriage.
“The holidays come with a whole range of emotions,” The Voice coach stated in the special via US Weekly before performing a song called “Merry Christmas (To the One I Used to Know).” “I’m gonna be real with y’all — when I wrote this next song, I was crying my face off, which happens even at Christmastime, everyone."
"I had just put my kids to bed and I was just going through it, having a really hard time, and it’s been a really tough year for a lot of us," Clarkson explained during the Wednesday, December 1, airing. "And I wrote this song for me, but also because there aren’t many holiday songs for people feeling alone or lost or just plain sad other than Dolly Parton's classic ‘Hard Candy Christmas,’ which we all love."
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"It’s about getting through a tough holiday. I absolutely love that song and it allowed me to write this," she concluded before belting out the heartfelt tune.
The talk show host then sang another Christmas break up song entitled “Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You)." Clarkson revealed, “I was honestly a little nervous about sharing this one because it’s not your typical Christmas single."
“But it was the first song that I wrote for this album and I wrote it because a lot of things were taken from us over the last couple of years — people, relationships, jobs, etc," the-mother-of-two said. "There were so many things taken. But instead of looking at everything that’s gone wrong, we should be looking at all the things that have gone right."
"And that’s what my therapist tells me anyway so that’s who I’m singing to! But no matter what people try to take from you, nobody can cancel Christmas, y’all," the superstar — whose divorce is set to be finalized in January of next year — jokingly said.